WEBVTT - CHAMP BAILEY 0:00:00.400 --> 0:00:02.640 This is cut to It with Steve Smith Senior at 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:08.920 production of The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. I'm 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:11.720 Steve Smith Senior and I'm a little John and this 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:16.040 is cut to It. Good do It, Good do it. 0:00:16.120 --> 0:00:19.479 Let's get down to do it. Good do it. We 0:00:19.600 --> 0:00:22.920 asked the questions you always want to know, but no 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:29.080 one ever asked, let's cut to it. You ain't heard 0:00:29.120 --> 0:00:35.080 about it, then we're about to left you now it's all. 0:00:39.680 --> 0:00:44.280 It's my pleasure to welcome to the Cut to It Podcast. 0:00:44.360 --> 0:00:48.280 One of the greatest corners in NFL history, the top 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:52.400 corner of his era. A guy that, uh made a 0:00:52.440 --> 0:00:55.440 lot of receivers like myself, UH, study a lot of 0:00:55.520 --> 0:01:02.320 film from the University of Georgia. He goes, He's the 0:01:02.360 --> 0:01:05.280 only guy I know that actually goes by his nickname 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:09.080 throughout his life, that people know him and you say 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:12.720 Champ and people go Bailey, right. Welcome to the Cut 0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:16.840 to a podcast. Friend and also a guy that I 0:01:16.840 --> 0:01:19.760 I studied a lot of film on going against Champ. Bailey. 0:01:19.800 --> 0:01:24.920 Appreciate it. I like to start off. We we're just 0:01:24.959 --> 0:01:28.160 gonna get to some just some ice breakers. Man. Let 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:30.120 you let you settle down so you'll know what kind 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:33.360 of uh really what what this is today today is 0:01:33.400 --> 0:01:36.880 all about you. Um, it's not about what uh people 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:40.520 think of you any of whatever they may think or soon. 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:42.720 It's just we're just gonna cut right to it and 0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:46.000 just talk about who you are. Champ Bailey in New Jersey. 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:48.160 You know where you're from and all that stuff. But man, 0:01:48.800 --> 0:01:51.640 what's what's some of your favorite vacation spots. I know 0:01:51.720 --> 0:01:53.440 you like to be light skinned, so go ahead and 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:57.240 tell us some of your favorite vacation spots. You know, Well, 0:01:57.280 --> 0:01:59.800 thanks for having me, bro, I mean, you know how 0:02:00.000 --> 0:02:02.960 all about you. But we'll get to that, I think. 0:02:03.840 --> 0:02:06.000 Let me, let me let's just say, I hate leaving 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:09.560 the country. So when we tell you so you so 0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:15.400 you are so Southern continued, You're exactly right already no, 0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:18.040 I already know. You know, the wife got you leaving 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:20.520 the country. That's what that's the problem. You know, I'm 0:02:20.560 --> 0:02:22.960 a little old fashioned to the point when i'm kind 0:02:22.960 --> 0:02:24.920 of I get stuck in my ways. You know. I 0:02:25.000 --> 0:02:27.680 like things to be a little routine, you know, I 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:30.360 like like to know it to expect. So when I 0:02:30.440 --> 0:02:33.519 leave the country, one thing that's the staple in my 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:36.600 you know, My life is food. And if I don't 0:02:36.639 --> 0:02:39.760 know what type of food I'm gonna eat, don't don't it, 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:43.679 don't even don't even go there. But you already know 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:48.760 like that, that's that's this, This conversation is always going 0:02:49.639 --> 0:02:52.760 is going veer right right now because so you're telling 0:02:52.840 --> 0:02:56.880 me basically, you're a horrible person to travel with because 0:02:56.919 --> 0:02:59.560 all you're gonna do is complain about the food. I 0:02:59.680 --> 0:03:02.200 tell you what, it has a big part of what 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:06.680 big That was a roundaby way of saying, yo, yeah 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:10.079 someone you know, Okay, alright, so let's all right, let's 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:13.400 let's let's change it. Then let's let's open minded to food. 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:21.440 But I love cat what so tell me some of 0:03:21.480 --> 0:03:26.480 your favorite restaurants? Then, favorite restaurants? Uh, breakfast? You know, 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:28.799 breakfast is a big part of my neal. I love 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:33.280 this restaurant called Snooze that uh colly moved to Atlanta. 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:36.640 I think they started in Denver, and you know it's 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.680 a big and I love a good steak, so steakhouse. 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:43.560 You know, I ain't like cracker barrel. What's what some 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:48.240 of your favorite I like cracker Barrel, but it's not 0:03:49.760 --> 0:03:52.280 that was that was that was a softball pitch that 0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:54.400 you should have let go, but you want to try 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:56.760 to knock it out of the park. Yeah, like I 0:03:56.880 --> 0:04:02.440 hoped too, don't know. No, not so you're I'm lot 0:04:02.600 --> 0:04:05.080 right now and I would not going and I would 0:04:05.120 --> 0:04:07.560 not going there and eat their food. I just yeah, 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:09.800 you were you over there talking about Oh, let me 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:13.800 get up, let me get those unlimited buttermilk pancakes. I'm 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:19.440 about to cancel our sponsorship. And I the reason I 0:04:19.480 --> 0:04:22.800 say that is, um man, I've I've traveled, you know, 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:25.120 I've traveled with a lot of a lot of my folks, 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:28.719 my some my homeboys, you know obviously with my fami 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:31.720 and one of my boys. I'm not gonna one of 0:04:31.760 --> 0:04:34.400 my homeboys. I'm not gonna name drop them. But we 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:40.600 went to London and this dude complained the whole time. Yeah, yeah, 0:04:40.839 --> 0:04:42.800 you know, he complained and you know he ends up 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:50.120 eating but McDonald's of course pizza hug. No. So I'm 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:53.440 not that guy. Okay, thank you, I'm not that guy. 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:57.279 My thing is, you can find good food, you just 0:04:57.320 --> 0:05:02.000 gotta pay for it, you know. It's just yeah, you're 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:05.680 not gonna run up on you know, a local restaurant 0:05:05.760 --> 0:05:07.720 that you used to like you do back home. But 0:05:08.120 --> 0:05:11.040 name some of those local restaurants back home that that 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:16.760 make you not want to leave the country. Well, there's 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:19.760 a lot of variety. So there's this Greek spot called 0:05:19.839 --> 0:05:27.200 zeus Uh Greek food? What kind of barbecue spot in Buckhead? 0:05:27.640 --> 0:05:30.239 I live in Atlanta, by the way, so uh fat 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:36.640 mats um. Yes, it's varsity. You go to varsity? No, okay, good, 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:39.200 I just want to make sure I'm checking. I'm checking. 0:05:39.480 --> 0:05:41.840 I'm in a file cabinet, checking my reference. Make just 0:05:42.000 --> 0:05:44.760 make sure because you can't be you can't be a 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:48.320 judger of food and then find out you'll go to 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:51.200 a Checkers a rally or you know some of that stuff. 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:53.280 It's funny you bring up varsity. I went to use. 0:05:53.800 --> 0:05:57.840 We had a varsity basically on campus. I might have said, oh, 0:05:57.839 --> 0:06:00.080 I know, I was just in Atlanta. My show was 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.440 playing basketball, so I was just in Atlanta. So that's 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:05.320 why when you said that. And see this is right up, 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:08.000 this was right up my alley. So that's I've just 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:11.800 been I've been sitting on uh was that two eight, 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:15.760 five forty five. I've been sitting on all those highways 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:23.080 in Atlanta, running up my toll. Uh quick pass, running 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:27.359 up my quick pass. It was a forty dollar toll weekend. 0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:31.800 Or playing basketball. My someone's playing basketball. So uh, I'm 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:36.240 very much. I know a little bit about atlant of 0:06:36.279 --> 0:06:40.200 fresh in my mind of all the air quotes, great 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:46.359 restaurants out there. Yeah, yeah, the thing. Yes, you better 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:49.760 know somebody who knows some spots. Right. Oh yeah, because 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:51.919 we walked in a few places. We walked in a 0:06:51.920 --> 0:06:55.960 few places and we walked straight on. I was like, nope, yeah, 0:06:57.720 --> 0:06:59.800 because I was over there by h I was over 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:02.840 there by lake Point, the Lake Point facility. Oh see 0:07:02.880 --> 0:07:05.640 you way up north, that's that's like bro, I didn't 0:07:05.640 --> 0:07:08.200 get to pick the location. I'm sorry. Well, here's the 0:07:08.200 --> 0:07:11.560 thing that's that's up north. That's more of Uh it's 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:13.720 kind of touristy because they have a lot of events, 0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:18.040 sporting events up there. And you know, it's funny. I 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:20.800 was up there not long ago, and I realized this 0:07:20.840 --> 0:07:23.760 is not the suburbs of Atlanta, like this is this 0:07:23.800 --> 0:07:26.720 is the country that So you were in Georgia, you 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:34.680 weren't in Atlanta. It's a difference. Well, I stayed. I 0:07:34.720 --> 0:07:37.160 stayed in midtown, so I had to drive back and forth? 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:41.400 Oh wow, who did who did that to you? That's 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:45.800 the long drive we use our marry our points brother, 0:07:46.200 --> 0:07:49.920 of course. Of course, listen, I never stayed in an 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:53.440 area where there's a red roof fan. If there's a 0:07:53.480 --> 0:08:00.960 red roof fan in that proximity standard and standard, I 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:05.520 just I ain't. I don't have no standards, and I'm 0:08:05.560 --> 0:08:07.800 still not standing in the red roof and I'm just 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:14.080 not doing it here, you bro knowing you from Georgia, 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:18.160 So let's just get into it. Where are you from 0:08:18.160 --> 0:08:23.000 in a place you call your hometown? Uh? Folks in Georgia, 0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:29.080 South Georgia, small folk? Yeah? How many? How many stoplights 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:34.559 on street? And street? Us? Four to five stoplights? We 0:08:34.920 --> 0:08:38.880 might have gotten another one since I left, Um, but 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:44.120 very small, I mean less than five thousand people. Uh yeah, 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:47.800 so oh so there's a chip, there's a champ Bailey Road. Then, well, 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:52.000 up until I think two years ago, they did name 0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:54.840 a street after me. They named the football stadium after me. 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:59.360 So things have happened last few years. You said, oh 0:08:59.480 --> 0:09:02.360 up to two all right, So I thought they gave 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:04.199 you that. I thought they gave it to you. They 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:07.240 gave it to someone else. No, No, it took me 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:09.160 getting into the Hall of Fame for all those things 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:14.640 and materialized. Okay, all right, and so what growing up 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:17.080 growing up out there? What what did you experience growing 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:20.400 up as as as young champ oh man. You know, 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:25.400 one thing about where we were from is you realize 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:28.680 you don't have a lot of opportunities to get get out. 0:09:28.760 --> 0:09:30.960 And when I say get out, it's not like we're 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:34.600 running from you know, bad people or things like that. 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:38.640 It's a it's a culture in my hometown that's just 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:43.320 not sustainable for a young black man. For example. You 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:45.280 know where I grew up. I mean, my dad is 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:47.959 point out restaurants and things that he couldn't go into 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:50.800 when he was a kid. Right, you know, Jim Crow 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:54.680 was real and you see the results of that. And 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:56.880 you know, I could go on about a lot of 0:09:56.920 --> 0:10:01.120 different avenues that my boys went down, you know, compared 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:05.120 to mine, because the traps were there. You know, you 0:10:05.200 --> 0:10:07.679 get in trouble, you're getting the system. That's what you're 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:11.040 known for. So nobody has hope for you. And when 0:10:11.040 --> 0:10:14.200 you know, if you don't have people pumping you up 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:16.920 and telling you that you could do things, and you 0:10:16.920 --> 0:10:20.480 don't see a lot of great examples. That trap is fat. 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:24.000 You know, it's easy for it got to go off 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:26.440 to college and come right back home because family makes 0:10:26.440 --> 0:10:29.480 it easy. The town makes it easy. Oh, come back 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:31.400 and work at the mill with your dad and your uncle, 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:35.360 and but those are dead in jobs because there's no 0:10:35.480 --> 0:10:40.760 growth there. You're just a worker. So with that limited mentality, 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:45.000 it's easy to get trapped there and and and really 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:47.079 not go anywhere. You know, you end up there. I 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:49.680 can go back home and see people that are doing 0:10:49.679 --> 0:10:51.800 the same things they did when I was in high school, 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:54.800 you know. So you know, I never wanted that, you know, 0:10:54.840 --> 0:10:57.280 it just took a few good examples to kind of 0:10:57.920 --> 0:10:59.800 get me on the right track and see that I 0:10:59.880 --> 0:11:02.880 had at the possibility of getting out and staying out 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:05.360 and then being able to turn around and bring some 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:09.000 value back home. That's that's what it was like growing up. Man. 0:11:09.080 --> 0:11:11.880 It was tough, but you know, we had each other. 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:15.160 We leaned on each other, my brothers, you know, some 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:17.040 of my boys that actually went on to do some 0:11:17.120 --> 0:11:19.440 good things. But for the most part, man, I can 0:11:19.520 --> 0:11:21.080 name a lot of guys that are in and out 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:24.080 of the system that I grew up with. I mean 0:11:24.200 --> 0:11:27.480 did a lot of dirt with and yeah they're still 0:11:27.520 --> 0:11:29.640 my boys, but boy, they went down the wrong path. 0:11:31.760 --> 0:11:35.680 I remember watching your your Hall of Fame speech. What 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:39.960 I thought was remarkable in you uh thus far you know, 0:11:40.040 --> 0:11:43.760 before COVID, before a lot of the racial tension, a 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:47.679 lot of the conversations you and Ladinium are actually, I 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:51.080 believe the only two modern guys that I I saw 0:11:51.960 --> 0:11:56.280 that implement I think uh, um straight hand as well 0:11:56.280 --> 0:12:01.640 a little bit um. But you guys really addressed um 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:05.800 being black man and and and what it impacted and 0:12:05.840 --> 0:12:10.720 what you saw um being young man. Because you guys 0:12:10.800 --> 0:12:13.320 grew up in the South, in the heat of the 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:16.680 South where you know, like you said, Jim Crow and 0:12:16.760 --> 0:12:20.680 all of those things. What was that process like for you? 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:25.439 And how did you come to that resolution that at 0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:29.840 the most important moment in your life, your your football career, 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:33.560 I'm sorry, in your football career, and you took that 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:38.480 time to address something that a lot of people don't 0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:45.920 necessarily believe exists. Yeah, and that's and you say, they'm 0:12:45.960 --> 0:12:48.200 outful there a lot of people don't even know it's real, 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:50.679 you know, And I think you know, one of one 0:12:50.679 --> 0:12:53.200 of the things when we get a platform. I think 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:55.320 we all kind of have an idea of what people 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:57.840 should do with their platform, right, But I think it's 0:12:57.960 --> 0:13:03.520 very unfair to expect young man like say, if I'm playing, 0:13:03.559 --> 0:13:06.320 if I'm in my twins, I don't expect any of 0:13:06.320 --> 0:13:08.760 these young guys to say a whole lot, right, Why 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:12.280 is it their responsibility? But now I'm a grown man 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:14.840 looking back being able to reflect. Now I have this 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:19.160 stage and this platform to really speak on it without 0:13:19.240 --> 0:13:23.520 real repercussions, Like that's what you worry about by not speaking? 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:25.800 It's like, dang, what people gonna do to me? Now 0:13:25.840 --> 0:13:28.920 I jeopard out of my career. It's unfortunate, but that's 0:13:28.960 --> 0:13:32.680 the world we live in. So now I'm looking back like, Okay, 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:35.200 well i gotta say something like this is something that 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:38.559 I really care about, something that I experienced, right, So, 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:40.960 you know, I wanted to be as real and candid 0:13:41.040 --> 0:13:44.440 as possible, but get people to understand, like, it doesn't 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:47.560 matter what you think. This is my experience, this is 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:49.880 what I see, this is what I deal with, and 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:52.520 I know a lot of people just like so I 0:13:52.559 --> 0:13:54.880 just want people to listen, you know, just pay attention, 0:13:55.320 --> 0:13:59.000 have some compassion and some sympathy for what people go 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:02.400 through all is of where they grow up. When you're 0:14:02.400 --> 0:14:06.000 a black man in this country, there's a certain it's 0:14:06.040 --> 0:14:09.080 a certain way you gotta walk around, right, There's a 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:12.160 certain way you gotta carry yourself, you know, and we 0:14:12.240 --> 0:14:14.600 don't have a lot of room for error. And I 0:14:14.600 --> 0:14:18.520 saw that in real time growing up, still see it 0:14:18.559 --> 0:14:21.080 to this day. And I just thought it was important 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:25.240 to hear those feelings and you know, and and let 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:29.040 people hear what I thought. What are some of the 0:14:29.120 --> 0:14:32.400 things that you experienced off the field that really shall 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:36.040 shaped you to you come across You know, a lot 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:40.960 of people don't know you, but you're not as quiet 0:14:41.040 --> 0:14:46.440 as you present yourself. You you you you're well round it. 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:51.240 You're you're you know, you're intelligent, you're smart, But you 0:14:51.320 --> 0:14:56.360 also quietly. You know, you you talk, you chit chat, 0:14:56.480 --> 0:15:01.000 you you go at guys. How were you able to 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:08.160 keep that clean cut image? Honest? You don't know? You know, 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:12.160 you know we were flung out together. We've been around 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:14.840 each other, so you you know I am I mean, 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:17.400 you know what I'm about I do. But it's like, 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:21.240 you know, I think I always wanted to just be 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:25.400 a professional, right you know, my idols were dal Green, 0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:31.520 Dion Sanders, Michael straighthand Bruce Smith. One thing about these guys, 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:34.520 you get them in the room one on one talk 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:37.560 man talk about anything and everything to learn things you 0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:41.040 didn't know. And I and I carried myself that same 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:44.000 way because when I'm in a professional setting, I'm gonna 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:46.680 be a pro. Like in the in the locker room, 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:48.440 I'm gonna I'm gonna be a pro. I'm gonna be 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:51.720 a best team and I could be. That's just how 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:55.640 it is in my job setting and when I'm around 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:58.840 other professionals, that's just the way I carry myself. But yeah, 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:00.600 I could let I can let It was laid that 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:03.760 just I guess the whole saying let your head down 0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:06.080 a little bit. You know, I definitely do that. But 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:10.320 you know, I still know when my bread is buttered, 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:13.320 and it's the way I carry myself, present myself, and 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:16.920 more opportunities come to me now because of that. So 0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:20.360 I feel like that investment in my personality and the 0:16:20.400 --> 0:16:24.320 way I carried myself is really paying off. How exhausting 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:28.760 was that though? It wasn't you know, it was just 0:16:29.440 --> 0:16:31.760 it was who it was, really who I was because 0:16:31.760 --> 0:16:34.880 it was I did unconsciously in high school. I mean 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:37.760 you could and as any of my coaches. I mean 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:40.120 sometimes I thought I was a bad kid, but then 0:16:40.160 --> 0:16:42.160 I can I look over to the left and to 0:16:42.280 --> 0:16:44.000 the right and like, oh ship, I'm not doing what 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:47.960 these guys are doing. You know. I'm actually showing up 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:50.160 the work every day, no matter what we did right 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:54.560 before real to go. You know. So I always accountable. 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:56.680 So I think that's where I hang my hat. I 0:16:56.720 --> 0:17:00.680 just want to be accountable and available. And that's really 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:04.240 really what I live by. I mean even in business today. 0:17:04.280 --> 0:17:06.960 I just want to be accountable, available and just a 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:10.560 man of my word. And that's and it just came natural. 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:13.320 And then over time as I got older, I just learned, 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:15.520 like there's a certain way you care yourself. I'm a 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:19.600 listener first before I opened my mouth, because I just 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:26.360 know I don't know it. I love cut to It, 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:29.840 and I love it even more when you download us 0:17:29.840 --> 0:17:33.960 and subscribe, and you can follow us on social media too, Smithie, 0:17:33.960 --> 0:17:37.000 where where at that's at? Cut to It on Instagram? 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:42.200 What about Twitter? At? Cut to It? Facebook? Cut to 0:17:42.359 --> 0:17:46.240 It featuring Steve Smith singr. What about online? And you 0:17:46.280 --> 0:17:48.720 can follow us at cut to it podcast dot com, 0:17:48.800 --> 0:17:52.040 where you can buy merch and you can subscribe to 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:55.159 us wherever you listen to podcasts. I got all my 0:17:55.200 --> 0:17:59.600 answers questions. Uh yeah, I got all my questions answered. 0:18:00.240 --> 0:18:02.200 That's what I'm here for, a brother, cut to a 0:18:02.280 --> 0:18:07.920 podcast dot com. So you you were with the that 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:14.359 we call them the Washington Commanders. Now you know they 0:18:14.359 --> 0:18:18.680 are correctors if we don't, they correct us as if 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:23.000 they've been the commanders the whole time and they just 0:18:24.000 --> 0:18:35.560 last year. But then you go to Denver. You have 0:18:35.760 --> 0:18:39.560 been with Darryl Green, You've been with Dion, You had 0:18:39.680 --> 0:18:44.720 been in the nation's capital, and you know, you stayed 0:18:44.720 --> 0:18:46.680 in the South, but then you move, you know, closer 0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:49.720 to the South. But then you move to Denver. Tell 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:55.160 us that to explain that transition between a little bit 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:58.080 of comfort because you know, live growing up in growing 0:18:58.200 --> 0:19:01.600 up in Georgia. You know, you live if you live 0:19:01.640 --> 0:19:06.000 in Florida, you're pretty if you live in Florida or Georgia, 0:19:06.200 --> 0:19:12.480 South North Carolina, Texas, I mean Tennessee, Alabama. You kind 0:19:12.520 --> 0:19:15.680 of stay in those areas, right you you you drive 0:19:15.800 --> 0:19:17.800 up and I mean living in North Carolina now twenty 0:19:17.840 --> 0:19:23.600 some years. I've been Atlanta, Georgia, Tennessee, Jacksonville. Somehow, some way, 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:29.439 I'm staying over there. But then you go to Denver. 0:19:29.880 --> 0:19:34.200 That had to be a little bit of an adjustment. Absolutely, 0:19:34.840 --> 0:19:37.640 and you know, you gotta think I'm twenty five at 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:43.040 the time. Yea at the time. Nevertheless, left the East Coast. 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:46.679 So the first my first impression of Denver, when that 0:19:46.840 --> 0:19:50.520 thought of going there came about, it was, damn, it snows. 0:19:51.080 --> 0:19:53.960 It Just that's the first thing came to my mind. 0:19:54.080 --> 0:19:57.919 And you know, but then I started thinking about the team, 0:19:58.040 --> 0:20:00.520 and I know I could play anywhere in anyweather, so 0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:04.160 I wasn't I didn't really like settled on that too much. 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:05.960 I started thinking about the team. I'm like, damn, but 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:09.120 they're always in the playoffs, y'all gotta And then they 0:20:09.119 --> 0:20:12.439 started talking about, you know, well they might trade you 0:20:12.480 --> 0:20:15.199 for Clinton Porter's and I'm like, damn, I like Clinton Porters. 0:20:15.480 --> 0:20:17.840 Can we keep him and trade somebody else? You know, 0:20:17.920 --> 0:20:20.200 That's that's my thoughts in my mind, you know, because 0:20:20.200 --> 0:20:23.960 I'm young, and I'm hungry, and I'm trying to get paid. See, 0:20:24.200 --> 0:20:26.879 I never really wanted to leave Washington to be honest, 0:20:27.400 --> 0:20:31.320 I understood at that point in my career the impact 0:20:31.359 --> 0:20:33.760 of that market, you know, being in the NFC East, 0:20:34.200 --> 0:20:36.040 I mean you got all the big market teams Philly, 0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:39.480 New York, Dallas, all the all the teams that are 0:20:39.560 --> 0:20:43.240 in the top ten as far as value and and fans. 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:47.000 I mean, there is no fan base at the time 0:20:47.080 --> 0:20:50.600 that was more loyal than the Washington fan base. Even 0:20:50.600 --> 0:20:52.440 to this day, I get people come up to me. 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:55.560 More Washington fans than Denver fans come up to me 0:20:55.800 --> 0:21:00.199 and talk about that trade because they just they just 0:21:00.280 --> 0:21:03.240 had more history there. I mean, when I got to Denver, 0:21:03.359 --> 0:21:05.919 they finally got their first Hall of Famer. She watched it. 0:21:05.920 --> 0:21:09.600 That had several by the time I got so so 0:21:09.640 --> 0:21:14.000 the organizations were in different places. But one thing that 0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:17.879 was different is the owner in Denver was like night 0:21:17.920 --> 0:21:22.400 and day from the owner in Washington. Dan Snyder didn't 0:21:22.480 --> 0:21:26.080 draft me. And to get used to the fact that 0:21:26.160 --> 0:21:31.320 somebody didn't want me in my prime, I didn't understand it. Right. 0:21:31.359 --> 0:21:33.600 I had been the four straight Pro Bowls, I'm twenty five, 0:21:33.640 --> 0:21:36.320 I'm young, I'm hitting my prime and this dude didn't 0:21:36.320 --> 0:21:40.080 want to This dude didn't want to pay me. I'm like, okay, well, 0:21:41.000 --> 0:21:43.639 there's nobody outside of Darrell Green the more successful at 0:21:43.640 --> 0:21:47.359 the cornerback position in this franchise on a consistent level. 0:21:47.440 --> 0:21:49.520 You had, you had guys coming in and out, but 0:21:49.560 --> 0:21:52.359 you didn't have anyone like it was Dell Green that 0:21:52.400 --> 0:21:55.320 had been there, uh since the dawn of time? Yeah, 0:21:56.160 --> 0:22:00.359 right right. And then there was obviously Dion he was older, 0:22:00.480 --> 0:22:02.560 he had you know, he had retired and came back. 0:22:02.920 --> 0:22:07.520 And then there was you. Yeah, yeah, so it it didn't. 0:22:08.119 --> 0:22:10.480 I never got used to the fact that somebody didn't 0:22:10.480 --> 0:22:13.960 want me at that time. I mean, I'm like, you're 0:22:13.960 --> 0:22:16.399 not gonna find somebody else like me? And they tried, 0:22:16.760 --> 0:22:20.119 you know, but I knew that I was a different 0:22:20.119 --> 0:22:22.200 type of player, and I knew I should have been wanted. 0:22:23.200 --> 0:22:26.879 I asked for a certain amount of money. They laughed 0:22:26.920 --> 0:22:30.119 at it, turned around and asked Mike Shanahan for it 0:22:30.400 --> 0:22:34.800 in Denver, and he smiled and said, no problem. And 0:22:34.840 --> 0:22:38.400 I'm like, that's all I needed. Somebody that wants me. 0:22:38.640 --> 0:22:40.840 He's gonna let me do what I do. I mean, 0:22:41.000 --> 0:22:43.320 there was no better transition for me in my career 0:22:43.400 --> 0:22:45.840 than going to Denver. The best thing that ever happened. 0:22:47.000 --> 0:22:52.000 Think about this. You just said that you were in 0:22:52.040 --> 0:22:54.600 your prime and one team did and one team didn't. 0:22:55.119 --> 0:22:57.880 You've done some analysts work, You've been around the game 0:22:57.920 --> 0:23:02.200 for a long wanted. The things that is always remarkable 0:23:02.280 --> 0:23:07.520 about the NFL is how statistically you can be in 0:23:07.600 --> 0:23:19.000 one category. However, you asked five different coaches on five 0:23:19.040 --> 0:23:22.359 different teams, and they all have five different opinions, and 0:23:22.560 --> 0:23:29.359 most of them are negative when evaluating when evaluating product, 0:23:29.440 --> 0:23:31.639 like you were a product. Let's be honest, you're a 0:23:31.640 --> 0:23:38.080 problemt and Chap Bailey is in his prime playing well 0:23:38.240 --> 0:23:41.720 not not really not like you're doing. I hate right, 0:23:44.680 --> 0:23:49.320 And there's only a few teams that valued you for 0:23:49.440 --> 0:23:53.560 what you were. Yeah, and the team that had you 0:23:54.160 --> 0:23:58.520 that was reaping the benefits from it, I didn't think 0:23:58.560 --> 0:24:03.080 you're worth it, yeah, which is baffling, you know. And 0:24:03.080 --> 0:24:05.879 and my thing is regardless of if I'm worth it 0:24:05.960 --> 0:24:09.440 or not, or you think that it's it's I understand. 0:24:09.520 --> 0:24:12.520 Sometimes you got needs, you got you got certain old 0:24:12.600 --> 0:24:15.240 you gotta feel right like there's it's always gonna be 0:24:15.280 --> 0:24:20.879 that factor. But to me, they had two years to 0:24:20.920 --> 0:24:23.680 get a deal done with me, right, Like they had 0:24:23.680 --> 0:24:26.000 two years they saw me up close personal how I 0:24:26.080 --> 0:24:29.480 work and to be, you know, putting that on full 0:24:29.560 --> 0:24:32.720 display and auditioning for them every day the way I did, 0:24:33.520 --> 0:24:36.240